On Air Highlights

Janitors in space

17 February 2012

Listen and download: MP3

There’s more than 600,000 thousand pieces of space junk orbiting earth ranging from nuts and bolts, to pieces of metal, to the tiniest flecks of paint. When travelling at thousands of kilometres an hour any one of them have the potential to cause serious damage to spacecraft.

Glen Nagle from the NASA Tracking Station in Canberra, Australia, tell Phil Kafcaloudes that there are plans afoot to send space janitors into orbit to clean up the mess.

Presenter: Phil Kafcaloudes

Speaker: Glen Nagle